Linux has grown in popularity in the past few years. Many more people are using Live CD's now than they were say 3 years ago. And with this comes a new problem for network admins. How do you stop a person from accessing certain file on the HDD that they, under Windows, would not be allowed to access, or even see. If you have a personal computer you can't really protect it either. A password on the BIOS won't work because if you remove the battery on the motherboard, wait 10 seconds, insert the battery back in, your password is gone.

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Lucas - Once a person has physical access to the machine, they, for all intents and purposes, can do anything to it and with it. If you want to protect your data, an encrypted filesystem is your best bet, but beyond that there's not much you can do.
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Adam DavisMar 25 '09 at 17:29

You'd also have to padlock your computer chassis, so there's no easy access to 1) removing the BIOS battery - which would reset the password and allow the attacker to re-enable CD boot, or 2) plugging the hard drive directly to the attacker's portable computer, for example via USB.
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Ilari KajasteSep 2 '09 at 10:39

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And most BIOSes have "emergency passwords" that only "service personel" knows (fat chance, Google knows them too).
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vonbrandFeb 16 '13 at 5:34

What kind of BIOS passwords can't be removed? (I'm not disagreeing, I've just never heard of this technology) Thanks!
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Lucas McCoyMar 16 '09 at 23:40

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That really depends on the manufacturer. I, for example, haven't yet been successful removing the BIOS password of my secondary computer. Portable computers are often more resistant against such attempts.
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gsMar 16 '09 at 23:42

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A basic security principle is that "I don't know how to do it" != "it cannot be done". I also have never heard of such a technology, so am a little sceptical.
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PeterMar 16 '09 at 23:50

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It can be undone by replacing the whole motherboard or by just moving the hard disk to another computer.
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gsMar 17 '09 at 8:32